


Her Angel

by futuresteven (orphan_account)



Series: purity [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, No Smut, Slow Burn, connverse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24706114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/futuresteven
Summary: What happens when Connie, a tired high school student who just wanted coffee, falls for the new barista, Steven, who accidentally called her an angel?It turns out a lot could happen.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Series: purity [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786138
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	Her Angel

**Author's Note:**

> AU TITLE: PURITY.  
> CREATED BY: FUTURESTEVEN.  
> — DO NOT STEAL THE CONCEPT I HAVE MADE. “INSPIRED BY” FICS ARE OKAY, AS LONG AS I RECEIVE CREDIT.

Hugs n’ Mugs didn’t have the  _ best  _ coffee. It was a small café run by a man who lived in Keystone State instead of Delmarva. However, its relaxed aura made it popular in town. Adults would rush in before going to work. Children would point at the desserts being offered and beg to have one. Students at the high school across the street would oftentimes go there to study or even talk to friends.

Among these students was Connie Maheswaran. She was a regular at the place and oftentimes sat with her small group of friends at the round table in the back. Most of the time, they were all studying together or discussing something related to school.

Today was one of those days. Her dueling lessons had been cancelled due to her teacher falling ill. This gave her the opportunity to study for the math test in two days that she hadn’t even begun to look over. Patricia made a comment about being exhausted and, as usual, Daniel offered to buy a coffee for both of them.

Delmarva City had a small population. In some odd way, everyone knew each other. That’s why when Patricia leaned in and whispered, “Is that a new barista?” they all got curious. Connie glanced down at his name tag. The name ‘Steven’ was surrounded by drawn-on stars, most of them unneat and messy. He looked so unprofessional that it was laughable.

When it was their turn to order, she froze when they made eye contact. His eyes were a gorgeous, warm shade of light gold. They matched nicely with his light brown curls. Daniel ordered a coffee first, but Steven never stopped gazing at her. Mere seconds passed before stars filled his eyes and he grinned. “You’re so pretty, you  _ have  _ to be an angel, too! So pure as well… there’s no way you’re not one!”

Her cheeks flushed and the stranger slapped a hand over his mouth. He flustered, obviously embarrassed by what he had accidentally blurted out. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… uhm, how can I help you…?” How was he so awkward yet so cute at the same time?

“I’ll just have a hazelnut latte, please,” Patricia ordered. It was clear to her that he wanted to change the topic. Steven nodded, taking the order down before turning to Daniel.

“Just a vanilla espresso sounds nice.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and turned to Connie. “What do you want?”

“Just a caramel mocha.”

“And what are your names?”

“I’m Patricia, this is Daniel, and that’s Connie.”

After paying, they sat at an open table and waited for their drinks. Connie couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly at whatever had just happened. Her friends nudged her jokingly. She would’ve never expected that to come from a stranger.

An angel, huh? That was something no one had ever called her before. Confusion came over her features when she realized that he had included the word ‘too’ in his sentence. Was he calling himself an angel as well? And what did he mean ‘pure?’ Questions raced through her mind and her heartbeat quickened its pace. This new barista seemed to be friendly  _ and  _ adorable. She still couldn’t get over his gorgeous eyes. His blush was so cute too, and the way he got so awkward after he complimented her made her smile.

Someone calling her name pulled her out of her train of thoughts. She stepped up to the counter and grabbed her coffee. Steven smiled at her when she thanked him. 

Studying proved to be difficult. She kept getting distracted by Steven. Sure, hours had passed by at that point, but she was  _ still  _ blushing over it. Daniel and Patricia noticed this, of course, and even teased her about it. This only made her blush even more.

When it was time to go home, the three of them grabbed their things. Before Connie left, she turned to Steven.

“Thank you, Angel!” She teased, laughing to herself when the boy’s cheeks turned pink. Stifling laughter, she turned around and left the café before he could answer.

Behind her, Steven stared at where she once stood. A goofy smile came over his features as he shook his head slowly, laughing softly in both embarrassment  _ and _ happiness.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

“My mom’s going to  _ kill  _ me,” Daniel groaned. His parents were the type of people who got mad if he got anything below a ninety. He, unfortunately, got an eighty-seven.

They finally got their test scores after waiting for what felt like forever. Unsurprisingly, the majority of students didn’t do too well on it. Their math teacher barely taught them anything at all and instead just made them take notes for a full hour straight.

Connie sighed. “Talk about it. My mom’s probably going to go on an entire tangent about why I should get better grades if I want to be a doctor like her.” Priyanka had wanted her to work in the medical field ever since she was little. Admittedly, she wasn’t even  _ sure  _ if she wanted to be a nurse or anything of the sort. Her mother, however, never listened to her confession.

“I’m sure you two will be fine!” Patricia pushed the doors open and the three of them exited the school. Around them, other students spoke to each other and listened to music. All of them rolled their eyes when Kevin winked at Connie. “You’d think he would give up on you already.”

“I wish.” She glared at him before focusing on her friends again. Something that sucked about living in such a small town is that you were forced to go to school with the same people every single year. Connie had the  _ absolute  _ pleasure of sitting next to him in her sixth grade science class. Ever since then, he constantly tried to get with her, even when he was already dating someone. They were in their junior year now and he  _ still  _ wouldn’t give up.

The trio crossed the street, occasionally shouting goodbyes at their friends as they walked home. When they reached the other side, Daniel stopped walking and peered into the café. Connie and Patricia froze in place, standing patiently as he turned to them with an innocent smirk.

“Daniel? Do you need to study for something?” Patricia questioned, clearly confused by her friend’s odd behavior. Next to her, Connie quirked a brow. Maybe he had to redo a test?

_“I_ don’t,” Daniel held in his laughter, “But doesn’t Connie have a test in _angelinguistics?”_ He snorted. Patricia, too, couldn’t help but cover her mouth, trying not to snicker. A groan came from Connie. They _really_ wouldn’t let her live that down. “He’s working the counter again, Connie! Maybe you can get his number today!”

Connie let out a sigh, hoping they wouldn’t notice the red hue that dusted her cheeks. “Alright, fine.  _ Just _ because I don’t have any homework today.” It wasn’t a lie. She finished the last of her assignments during her last period class.

So there they were again, only a week after the new barista accidentally called a stranger an angel. She quickly grabbed her phone and sent her mom a text explaining that she would be home late because she was studying with her friends again. It wasn’t too uncommon of a thing to happen, seeing as how they’d been studying together since eighth grade.

Fortunately, Steven didn’t seem to notice she was even there yet. Instead, he was focused on the customer a few people ahead of them. Maybe she should compliment his clothing today. He complimented her last time, so it would only be nice! Besides, it wouldn’t be a lie. Pastel pink hoodies looked  _ good _ on him. The white star in the center of his hoodie stood out in a good way.

After a few more people went, it was their turn. Almost instantly, the barista’s eyes lit up. Based on her friends’ reactions, Connie knew she wasn’t the only one who found this adorable. With a kind wave, he greeted them with the classic “Hi, what can I get for you today?”

Her friends ordered different things while she just went for the caramel mocha again. It was her favorite type of coffee and had been for a year or two. This time, Steven didn’t blurt out any kind words, although he did blush and look away whenever he made eye contact with Connie. She was acting the same way towards him.

When her friends got their coffees, their names were normal. However, there was instead a giant star where her name was supposed to go. As she and her friends left, she waved a goodbye to her (sort of?) acquaintance. “Have a good night, Angel!”

This time, she could hear his giggles as the door closed behind her.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

The next time Connie went to the café, it was after both her martial arts  _ and  _ dueling classes. She went alone this time around. Patricia and Daniel didn’t take either of those classes with her, unfortunately.

Surprisingly, Steven was working the counter  _ again.  _ His clothes were cute today as well. At this point, she  _ had  _ to ask where he got them from. His shirt’s sleeves fell past his elbows, showing that it was clearly at least somewhat oversized. It was a peach shade this time around, with yet another star in the middle. However, this star was a light beige instead of white.

Just now was she noticing his earrings. They were pastel yellow stars that didn’t stand out too much. Yep. She was definitely asking where he went shopping today. The majority of her clothing had been in her closet for  _ years _ at that point, so it wasn’t like she didn’t need new clothes. 

When it was her turn to order, Steven laughed. “One caramel mocha coming right up!” She, too, chuckled as she set the money down on the table and waited for her drink order to come out.

Twenty minutes later, she was sitting at a table somewhat close to the counter studying. It really  _ would  _ benefit her to focus more on boring classes such as history, but she knew it was important. For what? She wasn’t exactly sure.

A lady stepped up to the counter with a friendly smile and ordered a drink. Her voice was loud enough for Connie to hear her ask for a regular cappuccino. It seemed like a regular order.

“And who will it be for?” Steven questioned, uncapping a sharpie and grabbing an empty cup. 

“Rose.”

Both the order and the name were extremely normal. But, for Steven, the name was clearly much more than that. He dropped the sharpie  _ and  _ the cup with wide, teary eyes. Right away, Connie could tell that something wasn’t right. The other person working the counter placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. She watched as the previously happy boy turned around and stepped into the back room.

Connie, being the empathetic person she was, worried right away. She knew that she couldn’t go to the backroom through the staff only zone so she was left with only one option: the backdoor.

Cautiously, she stepped outside and began to walk to the back of the building. As she got closer to what she could only assume was the back door, she heard more and more sniffling. Whoever was making those noises had to be  _ sobbing  _ from the sound of it. 

Her eyes widened and she went stiff when she saw someone familiar. Another sniffle. The light hit him, but he didn’t move. That was  _ definitely _ Steven. He was hugging his knees to his chest, face buried between his knees. With mild curiosity, Connie glanced back in the direction she had come from. Maybe ‘Rose’ had hurt him in some way?

It was so odd, seeing someone who was typically so friendly and happy sitting alone and crying in a dark alleyway. She silently slid down to sit next to him, surprised that he had yet to notice her presence. Hesitantly, she cleared her throat. Steven  _ froze _ in place.

“Hi, I just saw what happened in there and wanted to make sure that you’re alright,” She explained, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He was still looking down at his knees as she spoke. Then, with a more gentle tone, she scooted closer to him. “I don’t know what happened, but you shouldn’t waste tears on someone who doesn’t deserve them.”

Steven didn’t reply. If anything, he seemed both embarrassed  _ and _ petrified that someone he barely knew followed him to the back of a dark alley and asked why he was  _ crying.  _ He only sniffled again, hugging his knees tightly to his chest once more. At the lack of response, Connie turned to him with a concerned gaze.

After a minute, he looked up to face her. The weird feeling returned the moment they made eye contact. Her cheeks turned bright red as she stared into his golden eyes. His tears only made them look much more glasslike. She forced herself to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

“I’m fine… it’s stupid. There’s nothing to worry about, anyways.” He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but even in the darkness she could tell it was fake. She only grew more concerned when he shivered again.

“I know we haven’t known each other for long, but… you can tell me anything.” Her tone was so soft yet so stern at the same time. She almost felt like she sounded like her mom at that moment, although she shrugged it off and instead focused on only Steven. Tears began to slip from the corners of his eyes again.

He leaned back once more and shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “It’s just… someone came into the café and ordered a drink. She had the same name as my mom.” Never did Connie expect him to sound so solemn. At first glance, he looked like the kid who was always happy and optimistic about everything. Now, she was getting to  _ know  _ him.

“I’m sorry,” She said with a frown, watching as he wiped away his tears. “For your loss, I mean. Do you need to vent…?”

“My loss?” More tears fell onto his cheeks as he shook his head slowly, leaving Connie perplexed. “She isn’t…  _ isn’t  _ dead. Well, at least I  _ think.”  _ He glanced for the side, letting out a sigh. “It’s all really complicated, I’m sorry I.. don’t know how to explain.”

“Hey, no, never apologize for how you feel. If anyone ever forces you to apologize because you admitted something you felt, they aren’t worth it.” Slowly, she reached out and set a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but relaxed into the touch moments later.

A sad smile came over his face and his cheeks flushed. “Thank you…” The simple statement seemed to hold so many emotions. The strongest feeling she received from it, though, was relief. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by her ringtone going off.

Hastily, she glanced at the time. Her mom was calling her, probably worried about where she was. She turned to Steven apologetically, “Sorry, it’s my mom, I have to answer…” He nodded understandingly and she answered the call.

_ “Connie Maheswaran!  _ Do you have  _ any  _ idea what time it is?”

She bit her lip nervously. “Nine thirty, ma’am.”

“And  _ when _ is your curfew?”

“...Eight.”

“Why are you out studying so late?”

“Uhm,” She turned to Steven and saw him crying again. Quickly, she opened her arms wide. Almost immediately, he crawled into her arms and melted into her embrace. “I just had to help a friend with homework! I’ll be home soon, I just… need to finish up this last problem with her!”

Her mother sighed through the phone. She flustered when the boy stuffed his face in the crook of her neck, taking deep breaths in order to calm down. “Connie, you were supposed to be home  _ an hour and thirty minutes ago!  _ Do you not understand just how  _ late _ you are?”

“I’m sorry, mom.” Relaxing a little, she began to run her fingers through the other’s curls. “I’ll come home right now! I’m not too far from the house.” 

“Connie.” She exhaled. “You have ten minutes.” Before her daughter could even reply, Priyanka hung up the phone.

“Do you have to go?” Steven asked, leaning back in their embrace. She squeezed him comfortingly.

“If I don’t want my parents to hunt me… yes.” Finally, when she was able to spend time with him, she had to go. She saw Steven’s sad gaze and frowned, turning on her phone again and opening the contacts app and pressing new contact. Of course she set the contact name as ‘Angel’ before giving her phone to the other. “Here, what’s your number…? I can help you out at home, if you’d like!”

There were stars in his eyes once again. Smiling faintly, he typed in his number. The contact name made him fluster a little more, although he didn’t change anything. He only put a star emoji at the end of it before pressing save. Connie laughed, texting him an angel emoji before shoving her phone in her pocket.

“I’ll talk to you in like five minutes, star boy!” The two of them stood up. Of course, even after sobbing for so long, Steven looked adorable. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her a final time before running off.

“You too, Connie!” He called out, making the girl chuckle. She turned around and began her walk home, knowing her parents would certainly be upset at her.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Although she would usually study with Patricia and Daniel on Saturdays, her parents grounded her for being late that night only three days prior to today. Even if she couldn’t study with friends, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t study at all. She was practicing math problems when her phone vibrated.

**Angel 🌟:** connie?

**Angel 🌟:** i need ur help plss 

**Angel 🌟:** can u call me in 10 minutes with a fake emergency?

She and Steven had been texting back and forth for three days straight now. He was the kind of person to send her cat memes when she was feeling down. Not only was he kind and sweet, but he was empathetic, loving, and caring as well. Somehow, he could tell how she felt based on how she texted alone.

Never did she expect anyone to ask her  _ that,  _ though. She quirked a brow, setting her pencil down and responding.

**Me:** Why?

He responded in seconds.

**Angel 🌟:** a karen got the wrong coffee and is talking to the manager about it

**Angel 🌟:** i wasn’t even the one who made her coffee, i was just a witness, but the manager’s making it a big deal

As soon as she finished reading, she burst out laughing. Steven oftentimes told her of weird encounters he had at work. Connie never knew just how weird people here could be.

**Me:** Fine. I’ll try to come up with something.

**Angel 🌟:** connie u angel

**Angel 🌟:** thank u 💕

For the time being, she set a ten minute timer and continued to solve even more problems her teacher never taught her in class. While she did this, she tried to think of something that could be considered an emergency. However, she began to completely forget about it as she took her practice test.

When the timer went off, she jumped up and grabbed her phone, turning the timer off as quickly as she could. She had to think of something  _ quickly.  _ Hesitantly, she called Steven and held her phone to her ear.

Steven picked up within seconds. “Hello?”

“Hey, are you busy?” She asked, trying to sound as serious as she possibly could. “There’s a guy at the door claiming to be your long lost uncle… what’s your name?” She paused for a second before continuing, “Your long lost uncle Craig. He’s muttering something about you needing to know ‘the truth’?”

It was the best thing she could come up with. She could already tell that Steven would definitely ask her about it at some point. “‘The truth?’ Oh no, I’ll come home right away! Thanks for telling me, tell… my long lost uncle Craig to stay patient!”

He hung up and she burst out laughing. That was probably the  _ worst _ last minute thing she had  _ ever _ said or done. Resting her chin on her palm, she set her phone down and picked her pencil up again. Oh yeah, that was going to become an inside joke for sure.

Even if they hadn’t been talking for long, she already felt so comfortable around Steven. He was so open about everything and always made sure she was doing alright. She woke up every morning to see ‘good morning puns’ in her text notifications. They were all so bad that it eventually became  _ funny.  _ A few more minutes passed before her phone vibrated again.

**Angel 🌟:** long lost uncle craig? is this you?

She laughed.

**Me:** Steven, it is time you learn the truth.

**Me:** Even if you’re confident about your puns, I can assure you that they’re all horrible and made everyone cringe this morning.

This morning’s pun was simple.  _ Have an egg-celent day! I hope it’s egg-stra good! _ She would never admit it, but she  _ cracked up  _ when she opened her notifications. When she noticed that she herself just made a pun, she facepalmed.

**Angel 🌟:** oh no… but, my puns… words can not espresso how funny they are to me and lars…

Lars? That’s a name she never heard before. Curiously, she asked him who he was.

**Angel 🌟:** oh lars? he’s my legal guardian, even if he’s more like a brother to me than anything

Legal guardian? Steven mentioned having a dad a few times, although she quickly pushed the thought out of her head. It would be wrong for her to barge into his personal life like that.

**Me:** You never told me you had a brother!

**Angel 🌟:** we’re not actually related, but we were basically raised like we are

**Me:** Speaking of which, where are you from? You’re new to Delmarva City, right?

That question took a long time for him to reply to. Even if she knew a lot about certain things in Steven’s life, he was still fairly secretive and flat out refused to elaborate on most subjects. Sighing, she set down her phone once again and returned to her study guide. 

Nearly two hours later, when she was taking a break from studying, he replied to her message.

**Angel 🌟:** i moved here a month ago i think

**Angel 🌟:** either that, or two months ago

That made sense. She hadn’t seen him around up until then, after all. Something strange was that he didn’t go to her high school. It was interesting because she went to the only high school in town. Another thing she found odd was that he didn’t answer where he was from. Maybe he travelled often?

**Me:** Oh! What grade are you in?

Hopefully that didn’t sound too rude. She was genuinely curious about it. How old was he, anyways? Surely he was younger than her. Maybe he was a freshman? That would explain why she wouldn’t see him around much.

**Angel 🌟:** grade?

**Angel 🌟:** 16?

That confused her. The highest grade someone here could be in was twelfth. Unless, maybe, he meant  _ college  _ and counted the years in numbers for whatever reason. But there was absolutely  _ no way _ that he was an adult. 

Then, it clicked. He was saying his  _ age,  _ not which grade he was in. Steven was  _ older  _ than her by a year?! She quirked a brow.

**Me:** 16? Are you homeschooled?

**Angel 🌟:** guess so? i’d call it online school

So that’s why she never saw him around campus. Now that she thought about it, whenever he ended up working shifts he  _ did  _ stay for quite a while. It wouldn’t surprise her if he worked double shifts, or maybe even  _ triple  _ shifts? He was far too young for that.

Before she could reply to his message, her mom entered the room. “Connie, are you studying? Don’t forget about your English test on Monday.” Oh, right. Talking to Steven completely made her forget about that.

“I won’t, mom,” She replied, watching as her mom left the room again and closed the door behind her. One last text couldn’t help.

**Me:** Honestly, I never thought you were older than me! I’m only 15 and three quarters!

Quickly, she turned off her phone and got back to studying. Their conversation would have to wait.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

On Monday two weeks later, Connie’s parents ungrounded her. Patricia pointed out that Steven was, again, working another shift. The amount of work he did both astounded  _ and  _ worried her.

She ordered a caramel mocha again. When she got her cup back this time, the name written down was ‘Long Lost Uncle Craig.’ Of course her friends questioned this, but she only laughed at their confused expressions.

Eventually, they waved Steven over to sit with them once he finished his shift. He was more than happy to join, sitting next to Connie with a kind smile on his face. Daniel and Patricia were excited to meet him, although they both referred to him as ‘Angel’ as well. This earned a playful sigh from him.

“I love your shirt!” Daniel complimented, smiling when the other boy beamed. He was wearing a long sleeved pink sweater over a white collared shirt. Of course, there was a white star on the left side of his chest.

“Thanks…! I love what you guys are wearing as well!”

Patricia laughed. “Steven, this is our uniform.”

His cheeks heated up in embarrassment. “Still.”

Connie couldn’t help but giggle at just how bashful Steven was. Sure, he was friendly with everyone and basically fit the definition of an extrovert, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t shy at times. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him looking over her math textbook with a puzzled expression on his face. He wasn’t dumb, only clueless.

“Do you want to study with us, angel boy?” She might as well offer. He continued to look at the mess of numbers on the paper and shook his head hastily.

“I’ll have to pass.”

“Your loss.” It was a joke, of course. Priyanka decided that she would be wonderful in advanced trigonometry. It was, by far, her  _ worst  _ class with a low grade of ninety. She would definitely have to raise it to at least a ninety two before she got in trouble.

Patricia was curious. “So, Steven, what brought you to Delmarva City? It’s rare for people to move here…!”

“Oh, uhm,” He averted his gaze awkwardly. “Famiiiily problems?” It sounded more like a question than a statement. His awkward smile only made it worse. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Daniel frowned. “I hope everything’s going better here.”

“Oh, things are much better! Very different from where I’m from, but still so amazing and incredible in it’s own unique way!”  _ How could someone’s smiles always be so  _ **_radiant?_ **

As the other three continued their conversation, Connie spaced out. She couldn’t get the memories of the other night out of her head. Steven really  _ was _ like a teddy bear. He was affectionate,  _ very  _ much so. As a matter of fact, he was sitting very close to her right now. Would it be selfish for her to talk to him separately?

“Oh, I just remembered! Steven and I have something to do!” She blurted the words out. The boy seemed mildly confused by her sudden outburst, but nodded slowly next to her regardless.

“I’m sorry, I completely forgot as well!” He was going along with her, apparently. “It was nice meeting you Patricia, Daniel! I’ll talk to you guys soon!”

After exchanging farewells, he and Connie walked outside. Curiously, he turned to her. “Connie? Are you okay?” Concern was laced in his tone and his head was tilted.  _ God, could he  _ **_stop_ ** _ with the adorable faces? _

“Yeah, I’m fine!” She smiled reassuringly. “I just want to get to know you some more is all. Talking over the phone works well sometimes, but we can get closer if we chat face to face as well!” Oh, he was blushing again now.

“Okay, sure! You’ve been super stressed lately, right?” She nodded. “Let’s spend the rest of the day together! And, with the snap of my fingers,” He snapped and she laughed, “You’ll be feeling like you were never even stressed in the first place!”

_ This boy was going to be the death of her.  _ Blushing, she nodded slowly and grinned. “I trust you, Steven!”

Soon enough, they got into a deep conversation while on a walk. The two discussed many things, such as Connie’s mom wanting her to be a doctor and Steven’s problems adjusting to Delmarva City. Even if they hadn’t known each other for long, both spoke to each other like they were best friends. 

When they went to the park and sat down under a bunch of trees, a young girl ran up to them. She couldn’t be any older than five. With childish delight, she clapped her hands together and grinned. “I knew it! You’re an angel!”

Connie glanced at Steven with a confused expression, only to see he looked just as perplexed as she did. He definitely didn’t know this girl. Embarrassed, he spoke softly. “I, uh-”

“You’re an  _ angel!”  _ She repeated, her smile growing wide. “My mommy always told me to pray every night and that angels would help me! And she was right! You’re here now!” Maybe she overheard Connie calling him ‘Angel’ again a couple of minutes ago? She felt bad for the kid who seemed so excited to see someone who she probably didn’t believe was real at some point.

Suddenly, another woman ran up to them. She was panting for air. The little girl hugged her. “Mommy, look! Angel!”

Although she seemed to be just as stunned by Steven’s eyes as most people were, she turned to the two. “I’m so sorry, she keeps saying she sees angels talking to her in her dreams. I never knew that she would call random people angels as well.”

“No, it’s fine!” Steven hesitated, forcing a small smile onto his face. “Have a great day!”

The women walked away, holding the now-whining child in her arms. Connie turned to him, already planning on teasing him. However, something about him seemed so off. She wasn’t sure what was bothering him, but there was certainly something.

“Steven?”

He jumped. “Oh, sorry…! I was spacing out for a moment there, wasn’t I?”

“Are you okay?”

“Of course! Here, wanna come to my place for a bit? It’s super hot out here.” 

The question caught her off guard, but she nodded regardless. “Lead the way, star boy!”

Unexpectedly, the walk to his house was rather  _ long.  _ Even if he lived on the main street of town, they both had to go through an alleyway in order to reach the entrance to the apartment complex. It didn’t help that, on the way there, Steven picked up a huge toad.

“It’s so cute!” He exclaimed as the creature tried to squirm out of his delicate grasp. Once it did, it fell onto his shoe before hopping away quickly.

“Steven. What did I say about picking up random animals?”

“Not to… but Connie, you don’t understand! It was so cute, I had to pick it up!”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Steven lived in a pretty decent apartment. It was comfortable, with two bedrooms, a living room, a tiny dining room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was an absolute mess, although he didn’t seem to care at all. Empty tubs of ice cream were piled up in the trash can and the dining table had tons of paperwork on it. Among further inspection, they all seemed to be legal documents verifying that Steven and his ‘legal guardian’ lived here.

“Well, I guess Lars isn’t home yet. It’s just the two of us for right now.” His face flushed and he flopped onto his queen sized bed. Connie sat down next to him, smiling at his childish laughter.

His room also seemed fairly average. Photographs hung on the walls, each one depicting him smiling with other people. The only thing she considered strange was the pile of feathers stuffed into his drawer lazily and the odd looking tablet sitting on his nightstand.

“Oh, that’s what I take classes on,” He explained, pushing it away and shrugging. “It’s nothing too interesting. Just looks odd here I guess!” Completely ignoring the feathers, he sat up and smiled. “What do you want to talk about?”

This time, she decided to stay persistent. “Why do you keep so many secrets? And why do you hide how you feel? Do you realize how dangerous that is?!” She reprimanded.

Hesitantly, he glanced to the side. “Connie. I wish I could tell you everything, but there’s so much happening and… you’re the first real friend I’ve had in a long time. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You  _ won’t  _ lose me!” She set her hands on his shoulders. “I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I already feel so  _ close  _ to you! I may not have crazy family problems, but Steven, I’m  _ here  _ for you. I  _ want  _ to help you, so  _ please _ let me.”

Never had he seen his eyes so wide before. Clearly, those were words he had been needing to hear. Sniffling, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She hugged back and squeezed him gently, making sure to rub circles into his back. 

_ “Thank you…” _

“Steven, never thank me. I’m just doing what any good friend would do.” She flustered when he stuffed his face into the crook of her neck again. This position always was so  _ comforting _ to him.

Her only response was another sniffle. Everything about him was so  _ gentle.  _ The way he gazed into her eyes, the way he always made sure she wasn’t hurt when he grabbed her wrist and dragged her somewhere, the way he beamed when she did so much as smile at him… he was so soft.

Soft? Her face reddened as she repeated the last word in her thoughts. She glanced down at the giant teddy bear who was finding comfort in her embrace. Maybe he really  _ could  _ be described as soft. He was angelic, enchanting, adorable, and so much more. How long had she known him now? A month or so? She lost track of time.

He leaned back and smiled at her comfortingly. They were the same height, making eye contact easier. His eyes seemed to glitter in the sunlight as he stood up off of the bed gently and closed his eyes.

For a second, nothing happened. She stared awkwardly, trying to figure out what he was trying to do.  _ That’s  _ when he was engulfed by a  _ very  _ bright light. Wincing, Connie screwed her eyes shut and looked in the other direction. It would have blinded her if she continued to stare.

A few moments passed before she heard Steven speak. “Connie…? I’m sorry, I didn’t even think that it would be that  _ bright!  _ Are you okay? Should I get you water? Maybe take you to the doctor? Or- no, I can just heal you-”

“Steven, relax! I’m…” She turned around with a smile, only for it to fade within seconds, “...fine.” Bashfully, Steven took a seat on the bed across from her. Behind him were large, white wings. They resembled those of an angel. Stars filled her eyes as he laughed, stretching them out to their full wingspan.

“Do you remember the first day we met…?”

“You mean when you accidentally called me an angel? I could never forget that!-”

“I thought you were an angel as well,” He looked away, his face turning pink as he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Your energy is  _ extremely  _ pure. That’s not something all humans can say…! I thought you also came from… from where I’m from.”

He stood again, examining his feathers with a small chuckle. “I remember running home after that and telling Lars. He… reminded me that there weren’t any angels here besides us. At least not yet,” As he explained, Connie looked amazed. “Even after my mistake, you didn’t stop talking to me. I never expected you to find me crying in an alley, yet you found me and comforted me.”

“Steven, you’re…” She was breathless. “You’re  _ beautiful.”  _ This was true. His wings went well with almost everything he had. In response, the bashful boy giggled and sat down again.

“Can I… touch them?”

When he nodded, she leaned forward and began to feel the feathers that were surprisingly soft. She caressed them between her fingerprints and felt when Steven occasionally shivered.

“Lars is also an angel… we ran away here because of a war happening back there.” His tone saddened. “My dad didn’t want me to stay, even though I really wanted to. Eventually, we ended up coming here. There’s still so many holes in the story, but that’s all I know. No one really tells me anything.”

She leaned in and hugged him. “It’s okay, Steven. I’m sure they only want to protect you. You’ll go back and see him again someday.” The pictures stared down at her and she got curious. “Are they also angels?”

“Huh?” Steven looked up at the pictures. “Oh- yeah! I can go on forever about them! I miss them a lot.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Go for it! I’d love to hear about them!”

“Really?” When she nodded, the boy got excited and jumped up on his bed. “Okay-! This is my dad and Lars here after I got my wings! Then, here is Ruby, the one with red hair, and Sapph, the one with blue hair. They were always so fun to be around! That’s Ame, short for Amethyst, after she pranked Padmini, the short girl with short orange hair who kind of looks like Sapph. She and Sapph are related, actually. Anyways, that’s Pia with the pink hair! She won’t tell us how she went blind in her right eye, but that’s okay! There’s Wyatt and Jayden after they both got their wings, and the cyclops-looking one is Nera! Here, with the purple hair, is Sophie- she’s also related to Sapph and Padmini. Rini here is related to Ruby. The short one with green hair is Dot and the tall, pink-haired girl next to her is Piper. We don’t know much about them.”

Then, he gestured to the final photo. There was a man, one that he quickly recognized as his father, standing next to a gorgeous lady with long, curly pink hair. In her arms was a baby. Steven smiled warmly. “That’s my dad and next to her is my mom. I’m the baby.”

Connie couldn’t remember more than half of the names he said, but she smiled in amazement. “They all seem so wonderful, Steven…” The boy sat down next to her again with a sad smile. He nodded slowly.

“I wish you could meet them. They would love you!” 

She leaned on him, “You can go back someday, and maybe I’ll go with you…!” He smiled, his cheeks turning bright pink once again.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

The bell rang. Finally, school was over. Connie stood up, grabbing her belongings and going straight to her locker. She planned to hang out with Steven again today and was going to wait in the café until his shift was over.

As she put her things away, Patricia and Daniel discussed something Soren, more commonly known as Sour Cream, had said during their English class. Apparently his brother Orsen, nicknamed Onion, ate his homework so he couldn’t turn it in. Connie couldn’t help but laugh at this. The kids at this school all came up with the oddest excuses as to why they couldn’t turn in their work.

They walked to the school exit as they conversed, as per usual. However, they were paused by Kevin. He got down on one knee in front of Connie, staring up at her with a smirk as he held up a sign reading  **“PROM?”**

“Nope.” And just like that, she and her friends practically ran to the exit. The  _ last _ thing they wanted to worry about was anything involving that boy’s desperation. The trio said their goodbyes and walked off into different directions.

Of course Steven was working at the counter when Connie stepped in. She waved at him and sat at a table close to where he had to work, “Angel, don’t worry! I can wait for as long as you need me to!”

The boy nodded in her direction, a blush coming across his cheeks. That’s when the familiar ring signalling the door being open rung out. Much to Connie’s dismay, Kevin walked in. He must have followed her there. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise her.

“Please, baby! Prom would be so fun! I’d even drive you to it in an expensive car!” He pleaded, taking a seat across from her. A group of students overhearing his words facepalmed. Connie only groaned.

“Go  _ away,  _ Kevin! I’ve already said no! No means no! And stop calling me baby!” Hadn’t his parents taught him any manners? Apparently not. One of the students sent an apologetic glance in her direction and she just shrugged her shoulders in response.

The other frowned. “Why won’t you just love me? I even wore my Gucci shirt for you today! Do you want me to wear everything Gucci? Will  _ that  _ get you to like me?!”

“Ew,  _ no.  _ Girls don’t just like money, you know.” Every time she tried to explain this to him, he only yelled that she was wrong. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steven staring at them with a confused expression. This would be awkward to explain to him.

“Connie, what’ll get you to like me?”

“Nothing.”

“Co-”

“She already asked you to be quiet nicely,” Steven interrupted, crossing his arms. “If you can’t respect other customers here, I’m going to need to ask you to leave.” He sounded disappointed. That was yet another emotion Connie had never seen come from him.

“No, she’s my girlfriend,” Kevin argued. “I’m trying to take her on a date somewhere nice but she doesn’t want to go anywhere pricey!”

For whatever reason, Steven’s face fell. He frowned and glanced away. Connie nearly slapped Kevin right then and there. “For the millionth time, we’re  _ not  _ dating! My mom doesn’t even  _ want  _ me to date until I’m at least in college! You may be a senior, but I’m still a junior!”

“That doesn’t mea-”

**“Leave.”**

Both he  _ and _ Connie were startled by his sudden aggressive mood. His eyes were narrowed and his arms were crossed over his chest. “Before I call security.”

Wordlessly, Kevin looked at Connie a final time before leaving. Finally. 

She turned to Steven and tried to thank him, but he walked into the backroom without saying a single thing. After waiting for a while, she realized that it’s better she just went home.  _ Why was he so hurt? _

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

It had been over a month. Steven hadn’t even texted her  _ once. _

Of course this concerned her. She lay down on her bed, rereading the last texts they sent each other. 

**Angel 🌟:** r u sure u can wait at the café? i wouldn’t mind meeting up with u later on

**Angel 🌟:** i’d hate to make u wait for me

**Me:** Don’t worry! I can probably study while I wait! My mom wanted me to, anyways.

**Angel 🌟:** i’ll see u there ❤️

**Me:** For sure!

_Read_ 2/25/20

Maybe she should try to talk to him again today. This time face to face. She, Patricia, and Daniel all had a big science test coming up, after all.

She set her phone down and got ready for the day. As soon as she was finished, she said goodbye to her parents and ran to the café early. If he was there, she could talk to him and ask if he was upset about Kevin.  _ Who  _ **_isn’t_ ** _ upset by Kevin? _

Lately, all she could think about was how much she missed him. He had the  _ best _ hugs and was amazing at cuddling. After discussing everything Steven knew about his mom, the two of them decided to watch a movie. As Dogcopter saved the day, they both snuggled close to each other. At some point, Steven even had a wing wrapped around her, pressing her closer to his side. That memory felt so  _ distant _ now.

When she reached the café, she saw someone who wasn’t Steven working the counter. Regardless, she went inside and politely asked if the ‘golden-eyed kid’ had any shifts there today. They shook their head slowly and she left, glancing at her phone. 8:20am.

Class began in forty minutes. That was just enough time for her to reach the boy’s apartment. Even though she hesitated before doing so, she ran down the street and turned into the first alleyway. This one wasn’t so bad because it was full of light. The second one only had dim light, though, and she had to take her time in order to make sure she didn’t miss the right turn.

8:37.

Frustrated, she stuffed her phone in her skirt pocket. The third alley was almost completely dark and, fortunately, she was able to use her phone flashlight in order to walk through it. Finally, she reached a dip in the wall.

8:43.

Beginning to get stressed, she ran through the alley and reached the entrance to the building she was looking for.  _ Finally.  _ The doors were unlocked and she walked into the complex with ease.

Wait.  _ Which room did he have again? _

8:49.

The landlord, a  _ very  _ tanned man who went by Mr. Dewey, was friendly and helped her out. Soon enough, she was told which room belonged to her friend. C23.

8:58 - _5 Missed calls_ _from_ **Patricia 💞** _and_ **Daniel** 💓.

She would have to call them back later. The last of her worries revolved around school right now. Her focus was on one thing only:  _ making sure her closest friend was okay. _

The elevator went at a decent speed. As soon as she reached the floor, she sped walked down the hallways and looked at every single number she could find. 

Then, she found it.

C23.

Only now was she getting shy. Despite this, she gathered her courage and rang the doorbell. For a moment, nothing happened. That’s when a tall, lean man opened the door. Behind him was a short girl with blonde hair.

“Uhm, do I know you?” He sounded confused.

“I’m looking for Steven…”

At these words, his expression softened and he stepped aside, letting her into his apartment.

“He just woke up so he shouldn’t take too long.” He shut the door behind her. The blonde awkwardly smiled.

“Hi, I’m Sadie. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out a hand.

“I’m Connie, it’s nice to meet you too!” Smiling, the high schooler shook her hand. From the looks of it, she could either be eighteen or nineteen. “And you must be Lars?”

The tall man, probably eighteen or nineteen as well, nodded at her. “Sure am! I’ve heard a lot about you, Connie. Mostly positive things, don’t worry.”

What Connie recognized as the bathroom door opened and a familiar boy walked out of it. He still had bedhead going on, making his curls even messier than usual. That was definitely Steven. Dark bags were under his eyes and he was a lot paler than she remembered him being, but there was no way that wasn’t him.

“Morning,” His voice was deeper because he didn’t wake up too long ago, according to Lars. Even then, he still sounded so sweet. He wore yellow pajamas that honestly looked good on him. They watched him make his way through the kitchen like a zombie. Clearly, he was still  _ exhausted.  _ He was yet to even notice that Connie and Sadie were there as well, standing right next to his brother.

Lars and Sadie only watched in amusement as he opened the pantry and pulled out what they could only assume was some type of protein shake mix. Connie, on the other hand, was waiting with anticipation. She grew more and more nervous by the moment.

“Hey Steven,” Lars replied, turning to the visitors and holding a finger over his lips with a mischievous smirk. “Are you going to stop eating all of the ice cream today?” Speaking of which, the pile made of empty tubs of ice cream had increased in size since the last time she visited. She would really need to help them clean that at some point.

The yellow-eyed boy rolled his eyes and sighed. “Maybe. Maybe not.” He stuck some of the mix in a cup. “I already called in sick to work again. I think I’m going to take a longer break.”

“So is that also your excuse for missing two therapy appointments?” Lars frowned. “Steven, you need to get out of the house. It’s-” He was interrupted by the blender. As soon as it finished, he continued. “It’s good for you to go outside. Especially because you keep getting emotional over nature documentaries.”

He stuck a lid on the top of his thermos, “I don’t even  _ need  _ therapy, Lars I’m  _ fi…” _ When he turned around and saw both the person he had been avoiding for a month and the person who his brother obviously had a crush on, he took a few steps back.  _ “Lars!” _

“Long time no see, Stevo!” Sadie greeted with an awkward smile and wave. Lars began to snicker, clearly not realizing just how awkward this was for both his friend  _ and  _ his brother’s friend. His brother shifted his weight from side to side.

“Uhm…” He glanced to the floor before looking up at the others again, faking a smile even though he was clearly both embarrassed and nervous. “Hi…? I-”

Lars took a step forward. “As for this latest little hiding game of yours, let’s just thank the stars it's over. Did you calm down? Get everything out of your system?”

That must have been a quote from something. Steven shivered, averting his gaze. Connie wasn’t even sure what to do or say. Maybe she should apologize? But what for? It was better to not have words left unsaid, right?

“I'm just teasing you, Steven.” Lars stepped forward and ruffled his hair, resulting in a groan. “I need to go to work with Sadie. I’ll leave you and Connie to talk about everything.”

“Lars-”

“Bye, Steven!” Sadie called out as Lars basically pushed her out of the room. The door slammed shut behind them and a loud noise rang out. Both of them had so much to say, but neither of them were brave enough to start the conversation.

Connie stepped closer to him. “Steven, I-”

_ “I’m so sorry!”  _ Steven cried out, staring down at the floor as he fidgeted nervously. “Connie, I saw you and that ‘Kevin’ guy dating and I guess I just got jealous for whatever reason!” He flustered once he realized what he said. “N-not that way! Just, I thought you were going to replace me with him, and-”

“What? Steven, Kevin and I  _ aren’t  _ dating! He’s just been trying to date me since forever ago!” She was surprised to hear those words come from his mouth. And the  _ jealousy?  _ She knows that he said he wasn’t jealous that they were apparently dating, but he was jealous regardless. This made  _ her  _ blush. “I’m sorry for not visiting earlier, I thought you never wanted to see me again!”

He wiped his tears away before continuing. “I wanted to text you or visit you or  _ something  _ but I was scared that you’d hate me for being jealous over something you were happy about…! Even if you really aren’t dating, I felt that way at the time and I’m so,  _ so  _ sorry Connie!”

“It’s okay, Steven… you’ve already apologized enough.”

She stepped forward and held him in her arms. He returned the embrace and she rubbed circles into his back as he let all his tears out. Was Kevin actually telling people that they were dating? She scowled at the thought. Why would she ever date  _ Kevin? _

The two stood there like that for a while. No words had to be said for them to know that they missed each other.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

“How do you look good in  _ everything?” _

It’s been a week since they started hanging out again. Today, Steven was wearing a light pink shirt that said “let boys be feminine” on the right side of his chest in dark text. This time, his star wasn’t on his shirt, but was instead was a hair piece in his hair. He laughed.

“I should be asking you that!” He replied with a small smile. Once again, they were walking through the park. Connie wished he could keep his wings out, but she never admitted it out loud. Maybe once they returned to her house she could ask. That’s right:  _ her house.  _ Her parents wanted to meet him.

Maybe she should get the warnings out of the way now. “My parents are kind of strict and can be a bit much at times. But they’re friendly to people who are polite!” This shouldn’t be too difficult. They just wanted to meet her friend! 

“Polite?” He hummed. “I’ll keep that in mind! What’s considered polite here is kind of different from where I’m from, so I’m sorry if I mess up at all…!”

“Really? How so?”

“First of all, no one has wings here besides Lars and I. Typically, you’re supposed to let them reach their full wingspan when meeting with someone of higher status… it’s a way of showing appreciation and, in a way, submissiveness,” He chuckled nervously. “More high-ranking angels like to know that they’re above everyone else. It makes them feel good knowing that no one’s wings there are as elegant as theirs are.”

That reminded her. “Speaking of which, Angel! They’re probably going to ask where you’re from and everything! Do you have any background stories in mind?”

“Uhhhh… no?”

She held a finger to her chin and hummed. “Let’s say you’re from Las Angeles… it’s a city in California also known as the City of Angels, so it’s fitting! And your last name is… no, not University... maybe Universe…?”

“I’m Steven Universe and I’m from Las Angeles! Got it!” Sticking with such a simple backstory shouldn’t be too difficult. The two of them took a seat on the bench.

Suddenly, someone whispered Steven’s name. Immediately, this alerted both Steven  _ and  _ Connie. They glanced around before looking at each other, as if they were making sure neither of them were going insane. 

“What…  _ was  _ that?” Connie quirked a brow at him. Maybe this was some magic angel stuff that she was yet to know about? However, he seemed just as worried as she did. Then, they heard it again.

**_“Steven.”_ **

It came from a different direction this time. They looked around again but couldn’t find anyone. 

**_“Look_ ** **_up._ ** **_”_ **

Automatically, they both looked up only to see two girls. Both were short and smirked down at them from a tree root. The girl on the left had light blue hair that fell down to her shoulders and the most enchanting blue eyes Connie had ever seen. She wore a blue dress and a bow sat on top of her head. The girl next to her had a much stockier build. Her curly brown hair was in an afro and her left eye was dark. Her left eye was covered by an eyepatch, however. She wore a ruby red tank top with some sort of yellow symbol on it. 

“There you are!” The blue haired girl said with a smile. She had some sort of accent, one that sounded distinctly British. Even if she looked adorable, she was smirking down at the two of them with an expression only a stereotypical movie villain would wear. 

Steven facepalmed, much to Connie’s confusion. “What are you doing here, Aqua? Rylie?” He sounded irritated. Just then, did the human notice the horns peeking out from both of the girl’s hair. It almost reminded her of demon horns, although she couldn’t be too sure.

“We just wanted to stop by and visit you!” By the tone of ‘Aqua’s’ voice, Connie could tell she was lying. ‘Rylie’ snickered behind her, shifting so she could sit upright.

“Yeah! Visit you!”

She was still confused. “Uhm, sorry for interrupting, but who  _ are  _ these two?”

Aqua scoffed. “Humans are always so slow. I don’t see why you would want to live with them.”

Internally groaning, Steven gestured to them. “Connie, meet Aqua and Rylie. They’re only just the worst demons you’ll ever meet.” He whispered now. “And no, not in a scary way. They suck at being both scary and intimidating.”

“We  _ heard  _ that!” Rylie growled. Connie wondered if she was somehow related to the Ruby Steven had talked about not too long ago.

Aqua beamed proudly. “We’re the best demons! We’re so great, in fact, that Azure  _ herself  _ sent us here!” The angel flinched at that name. Connie would have to ask why at some point.

“That’s cool, but… we’re kind of busy right now.” Connie wasn’t impatient, but she could tell that Steven was uncomfortable. She always thought that she would be scared of demons, but these two seemed oddly comical. Either that, or she felt safe standing next to an angel who could protect her.

Aqua laughed for some reason. “I don’t care! Steven here keeps emitting negative energy so strong that we thought it was coming from a fallen angel! Azure sent us to go check out what was happening here. Oh dear, no one expected it to be coming from an  _ angel!” _

“Must be from his mom’s side of the family,” joked Rylie. When Steven took a step back, obviously offended, they high-fived each other. Connie frowned. 

The three continued to bicker and she just listened. Maybe they had some background that she wasn’t sure about. And who  _ was  _ Azure? They spoke of her like she was some high-ranked God. She would need to ask Steven about that later on.

“Yeah. I think it’s best that you two return home.” Steven’s arms were crossed. Connie never had even seen him use such a tone, but she couldn’t blame him. These two weren’t people either of them would want to hang out with. 

“Why should we?” Rylie asked. “Azure sent us here, so we  _ had _ to come. Not exactly like we were expecting to see an _ angel  _ here.” She used the title like it was an insult. Steven, however, didn’t have any reaction to this.

“You may be on a little  _ date  _ with your girlfriend but that doesn’t mean anything.” Aqua smirked. Instantly, Connie’s cheeks heated up and Steven narrowed his eyes.

“We’re not dating!” She shouted, balling her fists.

Rylie and Aqua only snickered in response. Clearly, they had struck a sensitive subject, even if the two teenagers didn’t  _ realize  _ that it was just yet.

“Go back home.” Steven muttered.

“No!” replied Rylie.

“Now.”

“You’ll have to make us!”

And that’s when the boy seemed to burst. 

A bright, white light surrounded them. When Connie turned to her friend to question what was happening, she realized that she couldn’t see anything. It was far too bright, even if it seemed like just a normal dog at first. 

_ “Steven?!”  _ She called out. There was no response. However, there  _ were  _ footsteps behind her. All she had to see were a beautiful pair of blue eyes to know that her martial arts classes really  _ would  _ pay off. She didn’t falter to swing around and punch Aqua as hard as she could. Much to her surprise, the demon went flying back into the mist.

_ “Steeeeeven!”  _ This time, she shouted a little louder. She closed one of her eyes. It was so bright. What  _ was  _ this? 

“This is what angels truly  _ are.”  _ That was Aqua’s voice. She turned around, but was unable to see the short demon. “You humans are always so silly! Trusting those you see as pure when, in reality, they might even just be the greatest source of evil out there!”

Stars, she was annoying. Connie held back a groan, looking up and down but still not seeing anything. Where was she?

“You’re under his spell.” Aqua replied. Connie got surprised, wondering if she had accidentally said that out loud. “I’m a demon, it’s my job to read people’s thoughts and feed off of the negative ones! Surely, you knew this, right?”

Her eyes widened. How was she just now hearing about this?! She rushed in whatever direction seemed right. “Steven?! Where are you?!” Desperation was strong in her voice. She took another step forward just as another wave of bright light washed over the area. Both she  _ and  _ Aqua winced in pain.

“Are you seeing this? Angels are capable of things like  _ this.  _ You filthy organics trusted the wrong people, but are too scared to even admit that. How petty.” The demon whimpered when she finished her sentence. Was she in  _ pain? _

Aqua didn’t answer her this time and she frowned. Maybe this  _ was _ hurting them. Even if it was, Steven wouldn’t have meant it. Footsteps creeped up on her and she turned around just in time to punch Rylie square in the gut, sending her flying backwards. Someone kicked her in the shin from behind. 

She was forced onto her knees with a pained groan, clutching her shin with a frown. Aqua stared down at her from shoves, her blue eyes nearly glowing within all of this fog. She was holding up a knife, smirking.

“It’s time to say goodbye, mortal!”

Just as she brought the knife down, Connie shut her eyes. She expected to feel pain, but didn’t feel a single thing. Confused, she opened one of her eyes, fearful of being hurt. However, a shield was around her. One that resembled a bubble.

Both of her eyes opened and she sat there, curled up in a position the bubble was forcing her to stay in. This must be Steven’s shield. It was mostly white, but had pink and yellow specks sprinkled into it. For a reason unknown to her, she began to feel drowsy. 

Before she could even readjust her position, she fell asleep.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

“-onnie, wake up! Please… Connie…”

Her eyes fluttered open and she saw a familiar shade of yellow. Yawning, she sat up as best as she could. Steven perked up.

“You should rest some more… does anything hurt?”

She stared at him, half-lidded. That’s when the recent events replayed in her mind and she gasped. Hadn’t Steven  _ saved  _ her? Hesitantly, she pointed down to her badly bruised shin.

Steven knelt over and pressed a gentle kiss on the skin slightly above the bruise. She opened her mouth to question why he did that, but paused when she felt a tingling sensation. Within moments, the bruise had faded as if nothing was ever there.

Perplexed, the girl leaned over and poked where the bruise was only seconds prior. Not even a single shot of pain ran through her body and she stilled. “How did you…?”

“Healing powers! Remember?” He flustered, glancing to the side and rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry for kissing you, it was either that or me licking you… my healing ability is in my saliva.”

“No, it’s fine!” She reassured, still shocked by his ability to  _ heal.  _ Her cheeks, too, had reddened. “I learn more and more about you by the day… what other things are you hiding from me, star boy?”

“I’m not hiding anything from you! They’re not secrets, just things I never felt the need to mention!”

“Well, what other things have you never felt the need to mention, Angel?” She teased. He glanced to the side, almost like he was actually thinking of something.

“Uhm… I was born intersex and still identify as such although I also don’t mind being referred to as a male, my favorite color is pink, marble foxes are so cute that they’re my favorite animals, I know  _ some  _ Spanish and French, I’m fluent in English and Latin, my dad always joked that I was going to save the world someday… I like to play video games…?”

Even if she was just joking about him hiding things, stars filled her eyes. How was this boy just so interesting? She was about to ask to learn more when her phone rang.

She looked at the caller ID.  _ Uh oh. Mom’s calling.  _ After shooting a worried glance in Steven’s direction, she answered the phone and held it to ear. “Hi mom!” The two of them silently agreed to not bring up anything that ever happened today.

“Connie, your friend is still coming over at six thirty, right?”

“Yeah! We were just hanging out for a bit before eating dinner. We’re on our way there!”

They were almost late. She hung up the phone and told Steven this. And so they began their journey to Connie’s house. Even though they meant to discuss all that happened, both of them knew that this was important.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Dinner was awkward. Connie and Steven sat across the table from Priyanka and Doug, who would eye their daughter’s friend suspiciously every few minutes or so. 

“So…” Doug began, smiling kindly at their visitor. “It’s nice to meet you, Steven! We’ve heard tons of positive things about you!”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Maheswaran!” He laughed nervously. 

“Oh, please, just call us Doug and Priyanka.”

“Okay, Doug and Priyanka!” He took a bite of the food served. Stars filled his eyes. “This is super good! Thank you for dinner!”

Awkward conversation continued on like this. Connie would cringe whenever her parents asked a question that Steven didn’t have an actual answer to. Some examples included:

“So, Steven! Why did you move to Beach City?”

“Uhm… my brother wanted me to…?”

That was enough to make Connie nearly choke on her food. Then there was:

“Steven, you mentioned being from Las Angeles? Was it nice there?”

“Yeah…! I really loved the… the trees and grass and stuff…”

Her parents exchanged an odd look after that. Connie held back a sigh. Not long after that was:

“Your last name is Universe? Where is your family from?”

“All over the universe!” He said this with certainty. As it turns out, Connie didn’t give him  _ enough  _ of a backstory. Her parents glanced at her before glancing back at Steven, confusion written on their faces.

Even then, the ‘fake-human’ did a fairly good job at keeping his story up. When the conversation drifted to a general conversation about life, he got more invested and spoke up more freely. Her parents clearly trusted him and that made her happy.

When it was all over, Steven thanked her parents again and they smiled, saying he was a good friend for Connie to have. This made both teenagers overjoyed beyond words. After that, they went back to Steven’s house to hang out for a bit.

They were surprised when Lars revealed someone familiar behind the door. The angel gasped and ran to his friend who he hadn’t seen in so long. Connie remembered Pia, the girl with pink hair and a blind eye. She was even more gorgeous in person.

He introduced the two of them and they got along right away. However, things went for the worst when Pia frowned. “Steven, I think it’s time we talk. Connie is more than welcome to listen as well!” Her voice was soft.

After getting settled on Steven’s bed, Pia began. “Although this may sound crazy, I  _ do _ have a sister named Pearl.” Steven’s eyes widened. “She was always prim and proper, constantly the one who must do her job correctly or she would feel unsatisfied. Many others, including myself, looked up to her. Why wouldn’t we?”

Both teenagers were curious now, listening to her with all ears.

“However, one day she met someone and fell in love. Diamond, too, was a beauty. Although she was playful and kind, she could also be bratty and moody. It always just depended on her mood. The two of them got close very,  _ very  _ quickly.

Time passed and Pearl learned things about Diamond. As it turns out, Diamond was from a very, very powerful demon family. She was the youngest child of two. Her mother was called White, and her siblings were known as Blue and Yellow. Even if they were demons, Diamond was born an angel. She was raised a demon until she turned ten. At that age, she said enough was enough and ran away to the other angels. 

Things became difficult when Diamond met another angel. She quickly fell for him, leaving Pearl in the dust. Before they knew it, she got pregnant. This depressed Pearl, who still had romantic feelings for her. 

One day, Diamond decided to go back to the demon base. She wanted to see her family again after so much time had passed. Despite her pregnancy, she went there without telling a single soul. White, angered to see her after so long, corrupted her magic. Within moments, Diamond became a fallen angel.”

Steven winced. Pia continued after sighing.

“It only went downhill from there. Diamond was now stuck in what we all know as the ‘limbo.’ The baby she gave birth to was mostly an angel, but had a quarter of fallen angel blood in his veins. Even then, she gave him to his father and explained that she didn’t want him to be raised in such an awful place.

Pearl, however, wasn’t having it. She was a pure angel, but she couldn’t bear to see her love be stuck in a place that even nightmares were too scared to visit. She joined Diamond and was turned into a fallen angel.”

She fell silent. Connie and Steven were both waiting for her to continue, staring at her with an expectant gaze. When she didn’t continue, however, the boy frowned. “Is that… the whole story?”

“Unfortunately, it is,” Pia said with a sad smile. “I was just coming here to ask you… if you happen to see Pearl, or Diamond, please tell them that it’s okay for them to come home. We all miss them dearly…”

“Oh, of course…!” Steven reassured, only to be interrupted when Connie’s phone buzzed. She sent an apologetic glance in her friend’s direction after reading the text.

“I need to go home, I have dueling classes today…! It was nice meeting you, Pia!” She hugged ‘star boy’ with a flustered expression before running out of the apartment. 

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Time flew by. She and Steven had been friends for well over a year by the time her parents decided to send her to space camp. Originally, her not-so-secret-crush was going to go with her as well, but he got held up with what he jokingly called ‘angel crap.’ Both of them were saddened by this, but that didn’t stop their conversations.

While she was away, three new visitors came to Earth. According to Steven, they were fallen angels who escaped the limbo and came to Earth only because it was the nearest planet. The Limbo itself wasn’t a planet, it was more like another dimension that couldn’t be found easily. The fallen angels described it as a “crack in space.”

There were three of them. A lean one with blue hair named Lapis, a short, green haired one named Peryn, and a taller, more muscular one named Bissah. Steven described them as being friendly, although they could ‘be a bit much at times.’ Something he was especially confused about, however, was something that Peryn said.

“She said that I remind her of someone,” He says into the phone. Connie is on the other side of the line, listening to him as she did some homework. “She said that there’s a fallen angel named  _ Cherry.” _

“Cherry?” Connie parroted. When Steven repeated her name as well, she knew that something was certainly off. “Why does that sound so… strangely familiar?”

She heard Steven sigh. “I feel the same way. Maybe I’m just surprised because Cherry and  _ Rose  _ sound so familiar. I could just be overreacting and getting curious for no reason whatsoever.” He sounded exhausted and stressed. This made her frown.

“Steven, are you doing okay?” She set down her pencil, furrowing her eyebrows. He laughed on the other end of the line.

“Don’t worry, Connie! You should be focused on space, not some silly angel stuff!” 

This made her even more concerned. “Steven, I-”

“I need to go, lots of stuff to teach the fallen angels about! I’ll talk to you later, love you!” And with that, he hung up.

All Connie could do was sit there in silent shock, staring down at her phone that now just had his contact open. Something isn’t right. A wave of apprehension hit her as she sent him a text.

**Me:** Angel, I’m really worried about you. I care about you, more than anyone, and it pains me to see that you may not be doing too well. You sounded tired. You can tell me anything, you know. I  _ want _ to help you.

If needed, she would go back to Delmarva City and help him out. Even if space camp was fun, there was nothing better than knowing that your friend was doing okay. 

Five minutes passed and he still hadn’t replied. Hastily, she opened their conversation and stilled.

_ Read  _ 10:35am

Something  _ definitely _ wasn’t right.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Her parents weren’t pleased to hear that she came home early. However, after she explained why, they understood. Doug even offered to drive Connie over to Steven’s house.

The teenager refused. She thanked her parents before running off to what was basically her second home. As soon as she was at his front door, she burst into the room after realizing that the door was unlocked.  _ “Steven!” _

Tons of people were staring at her. She recognized Lapis, Peryn, and Bissah fairly quickly. However, she didn’t recognize the man with long brown hair and dark eyes sitting next to Steven. Lars even seemed surprised to see her.

“Connie, what are you doing here?” Steven questioned as he stood up. The two ran to each other and hugged, giggling happily. “Aren’t you supposed to be at space camp?”

She shook her head. “I was worried about you and decided to come help out! It’s nice to meet you, Peryn, Bissah, Lapis, and…?” 

“Call me Greg!” The man with long hair said with a grin, standing up and holding a hand out for her to shake. She did so. “I’m Steven’s dad!”

Her eyes widened. Steven’s dad? Then it all clicked. No wonder he wasn’t talking to her, he was probably spending time with his father that he hasn’t seen in a long time! Guilt washed over her and she took a step back from Steven’s embrace. “I’m Connie, nice to meet you!”

Before they could continue, Peryn cleared her throat. “Can someone  _ please  _ explain who that is?” She pointed to Connie with a brow raised. Next to her, Lapis and Bissah seemed just as confused.

“Guys, this is Connie! My best friend, remember?” Steven gestured to her with a large grin. She waved at them happily, glad to finally meet the angels she had heard so much about over the last few days.

“Best… friend?” Lapis repeated, confusion laced in her tone. She held a finger to her chin as if she were thinking about something. “But, Steven, didn’t you say that you l-”

“Enough talking!” Steven blurted out with pink cheeks. “I’m glad to have everyone here! Now, dad, what were you going to tell us?” He turned to Greg, desperation clear in his tone.

Greg seemed confused, before turning his attention back onto his son. “Oh, right! You may need to take a seat for this, son…” Perplexed by these words, Steven hesitantly sat back down on the sofa. Connie took a seat next to him, interested in what was about to be said.

“Steven… as a child, I never told you much about your mom. You were young and I didn’t want you to worry about her when you were so small.  _ She  _ didn’t want you to worry about her.

The truth is… she’s still alive, Steven.”

Connie felt Steven tense. Even Lars looked completely shocked, his eyes wide as the words slipped out of his mouth.

“Schtuball, she… Pia came by, right? That story, that character called ‘Diamond’ is who your mother truly was. Rose was a very conflicted person. She’s known as Rose to angels and humans, but…”

“She’s known as Cherry to demons and fallen angels.” Bissah piped in, clearly worried about the young boy. At that point,  _ everyone  _ was worried. Having a secret kept from you your entire life must be  _ horrible,  _ especially if it was about your own family. 

For a while, nothing was said. The air was uncomfortably thick, full of the truth that Steven hadn’t been able to reach for so long. He was silent and still, although Connie should eventually feel him shiver. She could only guess that he was either mad or cold. Then, he pushed her off of him.

**“I can’t** **_BELIEVE_ ** **that you would hide something like this from me!”** Steven shouted, tears slipping down his cheeks as he pointed at his father.  **“What else have you lied about? My** **_birth?_ ** **I never want to talk to you** **_EVER_ ** **again!”**

He speed walked into his room and slammed the door behind him. That’s when Lars spoke up.

“Greg… get out. I don’t think either of us can talk to you right now.” He sounded heartbroken, just as much as Steven did.

“But, he’s my son! I should be here for him!” 

Connie took a step forward to him. “It’s best you give them some time to think about everything… I know it may sound difficult but it’s just best for them at the moment. Maybe you can come back again and discuss everything then?”

The man sighed before nodding. “You’re right,” He turned to Lars, “When you two are ready to speak again, feel free to contact me.” The other boy nodded and he walked out of their apartment, closing the door as he left.

“Is it best that I go home as well?” Connie asked. Lars nodded and she waved goodbye before exiting their room.

She would call Steven after he’s had some time.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

He didn’t reply to her texts.

Eventually, she gave in and went to his apartment. Lars would typically answer the door and apologize, explaining that he’s still in his room before promptly apologizing. She would respect this, but still return every day.

On the seventh day, Lars gave in. “You can come in. He’s still in his room but… maybe you can encourage him to come out. I’m starting to worry, he barely talks at all anymore.”

She nodded and knocked on Steven’s door. “Steven? It’s me, Connie! I’m just here to make sure you’re doing okay… it’s been a while since we’ve last spoken.”

No answer. She continued.

“I want to talk to you again. I  _ miss  _ you, star boy. I want to help you through this and be with you every step of the way. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that I’m friends with someone as… as  _ incredible  _ as you!”

He didn’t reply.

After school, she walked to his apartment. Today was day eleven. Lars was at work, meaning she could come in and out at any time.

As usual, she slid against the door and sat down in front of it, facing the wall ahead. “Steven, I know you may not want to talk but… I’m still here. I’ll never stop being here. Even if it’s the middle of the night, don’t be scared to call me and talk about your feelings.”

She heard a hum from the other side of the door. Had he been waiting for her? They were back to back, the only thing between them being the door itself. This made her fluster.

“I love you too, Steven.”

This time, he giggled.

Day seventeen came by quickly. Connie took her usual seat, knowing that Steven was already where he usually sat.

“Patricia and Daniel are worried about you as well…! They’re wondering why you haven’t been at the coffee shop in so long. Today, they asked me if you’re doing alright.”

Much to her surprise, he spoke.

“I don’t know.”

A sad smile came over her features. “And that’s okay. You don’t need to know.”

Before she knew it, it was day twenty six. Connie was talking through the door when he suddenly spoke up.

“Connie… why do you care so much?”

The question shocked her. Why wouldn’t she care? He was her best friend, her crush, her  _ everything.  _ “Because I love you, silly.”

“I-I love you too,” He stammered. “Thank you… for not leaving me.”

“I’d never leave you, Steven. Not even if my life depended on it!”

The door opened. She nearly fell back but was tackled by Steven before she could. He held her tightly, face stuffed into the crook of her neck as tears slid down his cheeks slowly. Connie was quick to return his embrace and rub circles into his back.

Once he calmed down, he propped himself up and pressed a peck to her cheek, blushing. Her cheeks warmed and she pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. Both of them laughed at this, comfortable with each other. They were there for each other. Even during the hardest of times, they wouldn’t give up being each other’s top priority.

Maybe this is why, when Steven leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, Connie kissed him back, feeling happier than she had felt in a  _ long _ time.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

A few months had passed since then. When the alarm clock went off, Connie felt her source of warmth move away and heard him groan. She sat up with a yawn, rubbing her eyes as she greeted him. “Good morning!”

Next to her, Steven only stared down at her with half-lidded eyes. He was exhausted, probably from all of the movies they watched last night. They stayed up until the early morning hours together.

They both got ready for the day. Connie put on a green shirt with a matching pair of light jean shorts and white hightops. Steven, on the other hand, wore a baggy, pale pink shirt with jean pants and colorful sneakers.

Today was the day they didn’t want to experience. The usual warm atmosphere was much more somber this time around. Even Lars, who tried his hardest to seem happy in mornings, was clearly not in the best of moods. On the calendar, written in large red letters, read the words “GOING HOME DAY.” 

Connie was happy for Steven. He could finally go back and see all of his friends and family again. Maybe, he could even meet his mother once he had enough time to heal. There was a knock on the door and Pia stepped in.

“Everyone has agreed that Lapis, Peryn, and Bissah may stay with us!” She cheered, earning a couple excited yells from the trio. They had been lounging in Steven’s living room for a while now and waited a long time to go to their new homes. Connie was happy for them as well.

Lars, finally, wouldn’t have to deal with the stress of owning a house. Having so many jobs wore him out and he was  _ exhausted.  _ When Aqua and Rylie came back to Earth, he was the one who ensured that they would never return again.

Pia clasped her hands together and opened a portal. “Okay, say your goodbyes and let’s go home!” She sounded excited. Finally, her friends would be united. 

Steven grabbed Connie’s hands. The two of them stared at each other for a while, tears gathering in their eyes. After their crazy love story finally led to an official relationship, they would need to be separated. The war ended and everything was peaceful now.

“I guess this is goodbye,” Connie murmured. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his waist. They held each other close. Neither of them wanted this moment to end.

A few moments passed before Steven took a step back, rubbing at his eyes before meeting Pia’s gaze. “I’m going to stay here.”

She and Lars were both amazed. Even Connie looked shell shocked. The now young-adult was embarrassed, shaking his head slowly.

“I’ll still visit, but… Earth introduced me to love. Not only do I love the planet, but I love my job, and my friends, and Connie, my girlfriend… there’s so much more for me here.”

“Steven…” Connie’s voice trailed off. 

He went up to Lars and hugged him. “Lars, thank you. I’ll take care of the apartment while you’re okay. I’ll make sure Sadie and Shep are doing well, too…” Then, he hugged Pia. “I’ll visit you. I’ll help you get Pearl back in your life, I promise.”

The rest of it was like a blur. More farewells were said before, hesitantly, Lars and the trio stepped into the portal. Pia asked Steven if he was sure.

“I’m more than just sure.”

She nodded slowly before stepping into the portal and closing it behind her.

“Steven…” Connie repeated. He grabbed her hands and smiled. “...I love you.”

“I love you too, Connie!”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Aroma Mocha didn’t have the  _ best  _ coffee. It was owned by a man who lived in the Keystone State, close to where Keystone University was. However, it’s calming aura was intoxicating to the tired college students who oftentimes would stagger in to buy coffee after class. 

Among these students was Connie Maheswaran. Although she just started college, she quickly became a regular at the place and would oftentimes bring a group of friends to study there with her. Most of the time would be spent discussing school related things, though.

Today was one of the days where she needed coffee. She was exhausted and needed an energy boost before doing her homework. When she arrived at the café, she saw a group of girls talking about how great the “new barista” was. This brought a smile onto her lips as she entered the building.

When it was her turn to order, she paused. The barista wore a name tag covered in stars, with the name “STEVEN” barely visible on it. She laughed, shaking her head slowly when he sheepishly smiled. “Steven, you get more and more professional every time I come here!”

Steven poked his tongue out. “You’re just jealous! Your expression says it all, you want a name tag covered in stars as well!”

Even if they had been living together for a while now, his eyes never failed to amaze her. She rolled her eyes jokingly before ordering. “I’ll just go for a… hmm…”

He snorted. “Just say caramel mocha already!”

“Just because of that, I’ll take a caramel latte,” She teased. He shook his head slowly, smiling as he typed in her order.

After paying, she waited for her drink. It took a while, but when Steven finished he slid it across the counter with a cheeky grin. When she turned the cup around to see what he had put as her name this time, she stilled.

She expected stars, hearts, or maybe even a reference to some inside joke they had. What she wasn’t expecting was the words ‘WILL YOU MARRY ME?’ written in messy writing.

“Steven…?” When she looked up, he was flustered, holding out a ring to her. Clearly, it was  _ expensive.  _ He must have saved money on the side for  _ years  _ to afford it.

“Well…?” 

No words could describe how she felt. That’s why she leapt over the counter and pulled him in for a kiss. The customers in the store were clapping and cheering as Steven slid the ring into her finger.  _ It fit  _ **_perfectly._ **

“You’re an angel, you know that?” Connie asked, smiling when she saw Steven crying happy tears.

“I’m  _ your  _ angel.” He replied, pulling her in for another kiss. It was time they had their happily ever after now.

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU I came up with while sleep deprived one day!  
> If this gets popular and people enjoy it, I’ll be happy to write more of it!  
> This oneshot is kind of the “overall story” in this universe. Not everything was included, but it goes over the main points of what does and doesn’t happen!


End file.
